What do they do with the copper and silver?

[CruelSummerLord]

Your players are looting the monsters' treasure hoard, and they find that a lot of it is silver and copper.

What do they do with it?

Do they ignore it, taking only the choicest, most portable items?

Do they take only as much as they might need?

Do they get greedy and take every last copper piece they can lay their gauntlets on?

Do they take it for spending on the various minor expenses any adventurer might be expected to pay-drinks and rooms at an inn, road tolls, import tariffs, etc.?

Do they use it for their magic?

I'm just curious to see what players do with the lower-end treasures. And how much copper and silver, as opposed to higher-end items, do you as a DM hand out?

 

[greatamericanfolkher]

Near the end of my Spelljammer campaign I tested this. I converted all of the coinage in a horde into copper. They still took it all. This was a few hundred thousand GP in copper, at the bottom of a lake, and yet they took the time to collect every last coin. It wasn’t like they were poor or there wasn’t other treasure in the encounter. And did they ever complain...

 

[Olaf the Stout]

In my experience, the players still take as much of it as they can. My group had a bag of holding that they put all the coins into. Not all the coins fit in there so they went back the next day to get the rest of it.

Olaf the Stout

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Different players do it differently. Some guys I've played with will take it all. Others will only take the choice stuff. Of course if they have the portable holes then everyone will shovel whatever fits into it. I'll take it all if I can. Hey, ya need those coppers to pay for all the rounds in the tavern.

 

[Graybeard]

Most of the players I've played with or GM'd took all they could carry. It didn't matter if it was copper , silver, or really mundane minor magical items. In an Eberron campaign I play in, the Gm had a magical bottle that kept items cold (a thermos). The other players were fighting over who would get to keep it.

 

[IamTheTest]

It depends on what kind of character Im playing. If I clear out a dungeon outside of a town I may send in the church if Im a paladin or cleric. I may send in the townspeople if Im a dogooder. I may keep every piece for me if Im greedy. The possibilities are tied to the character, not the player. At least for me.

 

[Hejdun]

Take everything you can carry. If it's weighing you down, donate it to a church or something to gain favor. If you can't physically carry it all, then use some of the money you just grabbed to buy another bag of holding so you never have the problem again.

 

[Mr. Wilson]

Bags of Holding were meant for something other than copious amounts of coinage?

 

[B4cchus]

My players tend to take it all. When the pile gets diivided they somethimes round off to cover minor expenses (like drinks, etc).

 

[Creamsteak]

As a player, I somewhat prefer it if I can convert money into karma. That is, if I use the wealth accumulated from an adventure to do beneficient things for others, it will somehow come back in my favor sometime in the future. I find that much more paletable than carrying it around or spending it on magic items.